September 29th, 2005
If you’ve been a visitor of this site then you will know that I’m a huge fan of Acronis TrueImage. Although I’ve only reviewed up to version 7, I actually use version 8. Of course, the newest version is 9 and I haven’t upgraded yet since 8 seems to meet all my needs.
Anyways, I noticed that my system started behaving oddly yesterday. I suddenly lost the ability to put my notebook into standby. It would actually standby for about 2 seconds and then it would simply wake up. This was extremely annoying since I didn’t want to start/turnoff my system. I also noticed that the system was being a little sluggish recently so I figured I would refresh it. Normally, that would entail a fresh OS install; however, that process takes way too long since I have to reinstall all my apps as well.
With Acronis TrueImage and a recent full system image, it was easy enough to restore my system in about 30 minutes. I have several different images available to me.
- Baseline Installation - this one has the original OS install and default settings. This saves me time from having to use my notebooks restore CD/DVDs. It takes around 8-10 minutes to restore this.
- Basic Apps 1 - this uses the baseline install along with my most necessary applications and utilities
- Basic Apps 2 - this adds my next most often used applications.
- Occasional backups (Incrementals) - this is my working system with incremental backups every couple of months.
So, I use Acronis TrueImage to backup my boot disk and program applications only. I keep my data on a separate partition (usually D) so that if I ever need to refresh my system I just refresh C and my data gets loaded up automatically without me needing to re-setup everything. I back up the data using a different program that I’ll cover soon once it’s officially released.
Now my system is happy again and with very little down time. Gotta love it.
September 17th, 2005
I forgot to mention that this site was officially 2 years old when I posted last time. Happy B-Day! Yay! Actually, I consider this site an extension of my old Freak! site hosted on 9-muses.com and that site started in October of 1998.
Anyways, what’s new in the labs is that I did get my hands on an iPod nano and am in the process of reviewing. However, I will not be testing the durability of the device like the Ars-Technica guys did but should have my impressions of it pretty soon. It’s definitely a neat piece of engineering and sure to make heads turn.
September 7th, 2005
Lost in the hub-bub of the Apple iPod nano and the ROKR (don’t get me started on that) was Sony’s announcement of some new products. One can’t help to wonder if this release was planned or if simply a response to Apple’s latest offerings.
First up is Sony’s new Walkman. Available in a somewhat odd 6GB or 20GB configuration, the new Walkman brings a new design that utilizes Sony’s latest theme of what I call the “Mirror Magic OLED” interface. Basically, it’s a super shiny unit that has the monochrome OLED screen hidden underneath the surface. It’s extremely cool but somewhat difficult to see in bright lighting conditions.
Available in a variety of colors such as violet and silver (20GB models) and pink and blue (6GB models) with color matching headphones, the units introduce a few new play modes for more intelligent randomization, a newer easy to use control scheme, direct WMA support, and compatibility with a new line of select accessories. Though not explicitly mentioned, the battery life is likely to be 20-30 hours at a minimum.
Also announced was the “new” NW-A series of flash based digital audio players. These are basically new NW-E series players with a new 2GB model and some new colors including the very sexy limited edition Emerald colored unit. Other notable features include high-speed USB 2.0 connectivity (finally!), new play modes, and a new direct WMA file support.
A direct link to the press release can be found here
More real pictures of the units can be found at Atraclife.
Unfortunately, the new HDD based Sony unit isn’t completely jawdropping and not a droolworthy candidate. It certainly looks interesting in an organic Bath & Body Works Soap sort of way but it really didn’t introduce anything new. I was hoping for a color OLED screen (a killer feature), larger capacities, and new functionality.
I will probably add the NW-A6xx series under droolworthy status since it already takes a darn good product and makes it even better.
September 2nd, 2005
Many of you want to know the final outcome of my NW-E507 service experience. Basically, it sucked and left a very bad taste in my mouth. My previous experiences with Sony Service started off very well; however, it has steadily declined in quality ever since. Most of my experience has been with the service center (in San Diego, CA) that fixes notebooks.
My Sony Service Experience Thus Far
1st experience – My VGN-S170P notebook battery latch breaks. I call Sony Service and the representative overnights a brand new battery and tells me to dump the bad one. Awesome. A+
2nd experience – My VGN-S170P notebook’s hard disk dies a horrible clicking death. I call Sony, they ship me a special box and instructions and I send it in. The repair takes two weeks since it’s around Christmas time. Unfortunately, a service person decides to put in a 4200RPM hard disk instead of the 5400RPM hard disk that I had paid for. I again have to ship it in but the turn around is 4 days. Somewhat annoying. B.
3rd experience – Only a few months after receiving the VGN-S170P back, the HDD dies again. I have to ship it in again with their box. The fix is fast with 4 day turn around. However, they neglect to ship my AC adapter back to me. After numerous calls, they decide to ship me an AC adapter right away. Unfortunately, it’s the wrong one for a completely different model. After more angry calls, they finally ship me a correct brand new AC adapter. I had to wait nearly 2 weeks for this to be resolved. This could have been an A or A-. Instead, they get a C for service negligence and sending me the wrong thing despite me telling them which model to send.
4th experience – Now for the meat of the story…The NW-E507 saga. After having my NW-E507 for a little over a month, it died while I was out exercising. After notifying Sony about this, I was asked to ship it in (on my own expense) and that it would be replaced with another unit. I figured that would be ok although they mentioned that it would likely be refurbished and may have cosmetic damage. I wasn’t too happy about that but I had no other options. So, from before, here’s how it went down…
NW-E507 Recap
07/19 - The NW-E507 dies on me unexpectedly. I am told by service to send it in and I will be sent a replacement unit (not a new one though).
07/20 - Fedex’d to Sony Service in Texas
07/25 - Signed for by a M. LOPEZ at Sony Service
08/03 - Officially entered into the Sony Service System as “Received” (YES, 7 BUSINESS DAYS LATER)
08/04 - I call to ask about how soon the replacement will ship. I am told that it takes 14 business days. That doesn’t sound like a replacement. It sounds like they’re going to fix it.
08/18 - I call again to ask about what’s going on. No known work done on the unit according to service records. I ask how long it will take and they tell me that “they don’t know at this time”. I ask, “Next week? Because otherwise you guys are pushing 1 month since you’ve received it and that’s unacceptable.” They say they will call me within 24 hours to give me an update.
08/22 – I still haven’t received my 24 hour call back. I call again and am assured yet again that I will receive a 24 hour call back.
08/23 – I actually get the call back and am told my unit will ship out the next day and I should receive it on the 25th.
08/25 – I actually receive my NW-E507 back.
One month later…
Ok, so, that’s not the whole story. Upon receiving the package, I open it eagerly to see what’s been done with the unit. Immediately, to my dismay, the contents are simply put in a plastic bag. It’s not a huge deal but I sent them all of the packaging and contents (as if it were a new item) and it returned in a bag.
The unit itself was my original unit so I’m happy about that. I was afraid of getting a refurbished unit that had scratches or other cosmetic defects. The device also works like a charm now and I can use it but having to be apart from it for a month is unacceptable.
I was upset that it took the service department so long to fix the unit. I suspect that they had to order parts for the unit and I’m fine with that. If they told me that in the first place, then I would have been more patient. Instead, all I was told was “I don’t know†or “I don’t know where your unit is†or “we haven’t entered it into our systemâ€. A simple e-mail from them could have said, “Your unit has been received and we are awaiting a part that’s expected to arrive on [this] date.†This would have saved me (and them) a lot of time. The Laredo, TX service department was definitely much less organized than the San Diego, CA service department. I’m hoping Sony is taking steps towards making their service centers better because they’re currently doing a very poor job.
Final Thoughts and My Theory
One last thing that I’ve been thinking about is this theory I have about Sony products. My theory is that Sony products still made in Japan are superior to Sony products made elsewhere. Why do I say this? I simply have to look at the numerous Sony devices that I own and it makes a lot of sense.
For instance, all of the problems I’ve had with my Sony devices are ones that were not made in Japan. My VGN-S170P Build-To-Order notebook was made in the USA. My NW-E507 was built in China. Even my latest MZ-RH10 MiniDisc unit, which was made in Malaysia, doesn’t seem to be made as well as my previous MiniDisc units. There are no problems yet but the servo motor is noticeably louder than my previous units.
In contrast, all of my Japanese made Sony products have not had any problems whatsoever. Even the products that I bought in 2000-2001 like my DCR-PC5 MiniDV cam and my Sony MusicClip all still work. All of my digital cameras (DSC-T1, DSC-F707 and DSC-F828) and laptops (PCG-SR7K and VAIO TR) have also been trouble free.
Pure coincidence? Possibly but it certainly makes you wonder.
August 18th, 2005
I have finally returned from Japan and had expected my NW-E507 to be back but that was not the case. I called Sony Service this morning to find out what’s going and as expected, no one knew anything about it. Let’s go over the timetable so far…
07/19 - The NW-E507 dies on me unexpectedly. I am told by service to send it in and I will be sent a replacement unit (not a new one though).
07/20 - Fedex’d to Sony Service in Texas
07/25 - Signed for by a M. LOPEZ at Sony Service
08/03 - Officially entered into the Sony Service System as “Received” (YES, 7 BUSINESS DAYS LATER)
08/04 - I call to ask about how soon the replacement will ship. I am told that it takes 14 business days. That doesn’t sound like a replacement. It sounds like they’re going to fix it.
08/18 - I call again to ask about what’s going on. No known work done on the unit according to service records. I ask how long it will take and they tell me that “they don’t know at this time”. I ask, “Next week? Because otherwise you guys are pushing 1 month since you’ve received it and that’s unacceptable.”
So, I’ve escalated the situation a little higher and now a service person is going to contact me directly in the next 24 hours with a status update. Of course, the clock is ticking and if I don’t get a call I’m escalating it even more. We’ll see what happens…
